The controversy surrounding the Resource Green Caregiver and Patients Group continued at the April 5 Santa Rosa City Council meeting, where a possible moratorium on local cannabis clubs was discussed. SRPD Lt. Jerry Briggs told the council that Resource Green CEO Ken Haus' stepfather had been robbed at gunpoint outside his Larkspur home by an unknown assailant who had followed him home from the pot club. Haus' father, who does books for the club and asked that his name not be used, acknowledged that he had been robbed, but denied that anyone had followed him. "I'm very careful, and always take alternate routes on the way home," he said, adding that he's angered that Lt. Briggs released his address in the presentation to the council. He says the address was subsequently included in at least one local TV report. "It was an insensitive thing to do," the stepfather said. "Certainly, our intent was not to highlight where he lives," Lt. Briggs replied. "There was no harm intended."

Student Revolt

Mixed in with the 250 or so nurses, firefighters and public employees protesting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's visit to Santa Rosa on April 7 was a smattering of Santa Rosa Junior College students, including Jessica Birrer, who was dressed as Uncle (Aunt?) Sam. "When you invest in education, you invest in the future," Birrer said, referring to the Goobernator's proposed cap on state spending, which will lop $200 million off the community college budget. "He's investing in [expletive deleted]." If Schwarzenegger's spending cap is approved, community college students will pay higher fees and receive less benefits--not to mention the corresponding decline in the quality of their education.

Ensign Fails Again

State inspectors continue to find problems in nursing homes run by Ensign Group, the fastest growing nursing home chain in California ("Minding Your Elders,"Bohemian, Nov. 3, 2004). According to watchdog group Nursing Home Watch, 19 out of 26 Ensign facilities were recently found "deficient for unsanitary environment." Ensign operates five nursing homes in the North Bay: Park View Gardens and Summerfield Health Care Center in Santa Rosa; Cloverdale Health Center; Sonoma Healthcare Center; and Northbrook Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willits.